Controller.



No. 669,755. Patented Mar. 12, IQOI.

C. F. LUNDEBERG.

CONTROLLER.

[Application filed July 17, 1900.

(In Modem 4 Sheets-Sheat I.

Inventor: OarZZZ'LwndeeW By 1210 ofttorney I we Nomus PEYERS 60.. pwb'rdlmia. wAumsrou. a. c.

No. 669,755. Patented Mar. l2, I90l.

- C. F. LUNDEBERG.

G 0 N T B 0 L L E R (Applicltion filed July 1 Z, 1 900) (No Modal.)

4 Sheets-Sheat 2.

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nm. WASHKNGTON o c Patented Mar. l2, l90l.

' C. F. LUNDEBERG.

CONTROLLER.

(Application filed July 17. 1900.}

4 Sheets-$heet 3.

(No Model) STOP Asr BACK Invader." CarZILLu/ndeber m: "cams Prrzns cu. PNOYO-LITHQ, wasumcmu. b c.

Patented Mar. I2, I90].

c. F. LUNDEBERG.

C 0 N T R 0 L L E R (Application filed July 17, 1900.

4 SheetsSheet 4.

(No Model.)

jmuentom' Caz/r6 FLU/220266679 13y his Juana? UNITED STATES PATENT FFICE.

CARL F. LUNDEBERG, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT.

CONTROLLER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 669,755, dated March 12, 1901.

Application filed July 17, 1900. Serial No. 23,894. (No modehl To (LZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CARL F. LUNDEBERG, a citizen of the United States, residing in Hartford, in the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Controllers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in controllers; and it has for its main object to provide an improved electrical controller for governing the flow of current from a suitable source of energy to an electric motor on a movable vehicle; and it relates especially to a controller of a construction particularly adapted for use on automobile vehicles. In such a controller it is important to make all the parts as light as is consistent with durability and strength and at the same time provide a construction in which any of the parts may be-readily replaced when they become worn or broken.

One of the principal features of the present invention is the employment of means for raising the finger-contacts from the drum-contacts and holding them out of engagement therewith during the turning of the drum from oneposition to another and for quickly bringing the finger-contacts into engagement with the drum-contacts again when the drum has been turned to the desired point. Thus sparking is reduced to a minimum, and the loss due to the passage of current from the source of power or battery through the con ductors to the drum-contacts of each intermediate step of the drum during the turning of the latter is wholly avoided. I prefer to so organize the parts that when the drumtnrning means is operated by means of the usual handle or other equivalent operating member the finger-contacts will be simultaneously raised from the drum and will be held out of engagement therewith until the drum is turned to a predetermined point, which may be either the next step of the drum or any succeeding step which it may be desired to connect with the source of energy. Ordinarily a suitable lever or other part will be provided for holding the finger-contacts up out of engagement with the drum until the latter has been turned to the desired position whether it be one or more steps from the one at which contact was broken. The

finger-bar is movable relatively to the druni and may be latched thereto, when the drum is in any one of its operative positions, by means of a suitable detent device, preferably a spring-pressed member carried by the finger-bar and adapted to have a quick let-off movement, which will also serve to bring the fingercontacts quickly into engagement with the drum-contacts and reduce the sparking to a minim um during the making of the contact.

In connection with the main drum-turning means I prefer to employ secondary or auxiliary drum-turning means, which may be controlled by the movement of the drum itself. This secondary drum-turning means should become effective at a plurality of points in the circuit of the drum, said respective positions corresponding to the respective steps of the drum. The finger-bar and the finger-contacts carried thereby may be controlled in their movements by this secondary or auxiliary drum-turning means, and hence the raising of the finger-contacts from the drum-contacts and the reengagement of said finger-contacts with the drum-contacts may be effected semi-automatically by the movement of said secondary dru1n-tnrning means.

Other features of my invention not hereinbet'ore particularly referred to Will be described hereinafter and are shown in the aocompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is an end elevation showing my improved controller in an operative position. Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a developed View of the surface of the drum showing the d ru iii-contacts. Fig. 4t is a detail illustrating the position of the drum and its detent device when the drum is in its stop position. Fig. 5 is a similar view showing the detent released from the drum. Fig. 6 is a similar view showing the drum turned to a point immediately in advance of the startingposition. Fig. 7 a transverse section of the finger-bar, showing a finger and a finger-contact secured thereto. Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a portion of a finger and its finger-contact. Fig. 9 is a perspective view of a finger-holding clip. Fig. 10 is a similar View of a binding-post 0r conductorclip. Fig. 11 is a similar view of a conductor-clamp for such binding-post, and Fig. 12

is an edge view of a drum-latching lever carried by the finger-bar.

Similar characters designate like parts in the different figures of the drawings.

My improved controller may be supported in any suitable manner and in any proper position upon the vehicle the movements of which it is int-ended to govern; but in the present case it is carried by brackets, such as 2 and 2, secured to the under side of the seat 3 of the vehicle in a convenient position, substantially as shown in Figs. land 2. The controller-drum is designated in a general way by D and will usually be formed from wood, preferably rock-maple, having a shaft 5 driven therethrough, the wood body of the drum being secured to the shaft preferably by means of taper pins. (Not shown.) At its opposite ends said drum may have a pair of annular bands, preferably steel rings, such as 6 and 6, driven thereonto, and the drum itself will have a series of longitudinal grooves or channels for the reception of the drunrcontacts, said channels being in this case at least five in number and being designated, respectively, by 7, while at the stoppoint of the drum there need be no groove, as there are no drum-contacts to be located or connected at this point in the construction shown in the drawings of this application.

In the construction shown the controller has five operative positions, corresponding to the five steps at which the contacts are located, and in Fig. 3 I have illustrated clearly one set of drum-contacts and the manner in which they may be connected for running the vehicle forward at three different speeds and backward at two different speeds. In this view I have shown at 8 and S a pair of single drum-contacts connected so as to cooperate with corresponding finger-contacts carried by fingers of the finger-bar. It will be noticed that the drum is in this case of such a length as to provide for spacing fourteen different single contacts along the drum with suitable intervals between them, these fourteen contacts of the drum corresponding to and coacting with an equal number of contacts on the fingers of the finger-bar. The contacts 8 and 8 are intended to cooperate with two single finger-contacts and to control one section of a suitable source of power or secondary battery (not shown) for driving at a somewhat low speed the vehicle on which the controller is mounted. 2nd ahead in Fig. 3 I have illustrated a double contact 9, connected with a single contact 9 and so positioned as to cooperate with three other contacts of the finger-bar to thereby make circuit with two elements of the source of power or battery, and thus drive the vehicle at a higher speed. At the position market 3rd ahead a triple contact 10 is connected wit-l1 a single contact 10 in such a manner as to control four other finger-contacts, and hence three elements or sections of the storage battery, and thus drive the vehi- At the position indicated by cle at full speed. In a substantially similar manner the contacts 12 and12 are intended to drive the vehicle at the same speed hackward as the contacts 9 and 9, while the single contacts 13 and 13' permit the vehicle to be driven backward at the same speed as when the contacts 8 and 8 are in circuit. Each pair of contacts cooperates with a different pair or set of finger-contacts from every other pair in order that there may be no interference in the circuit connections. Of course the grouping of the contacts which is shown herein is only one of many that may be used and is intended to illustrate merely a simple mode of connection and combination.

Each one of the contacts, whether single, double, or triple, is preferably secu red in place by a screw or screws, such as 15, passed through an opening therein, having countersinks at both ends thereof in order that the contact may be reversed, if desired. These drum-contacts may be connected in any suitable manner, but usually by means of copper bond-wires bent as shown at 16 in Fig. 3 and passed into transverse openings in the drumcontacts, which openings intersect those through which the screws 15 pass. These bond-wires should be suitably covered with tape or other insulating material to insulate them thoroughly from all parts which are likely to come in contact therewith.

The drum D is intended to be turned in this case, preferably by means of a handle secured to a short shaft journaled in a hearing in the bracket 2 and having asector secured thereto and meshing with agear or pinion carried by the drum. This pinion is indicated herein at 20 and is keyed on the shaft 5, passing through the drum, and meshes with a sector 21, secured to a short shaft, the opposite end of which has fastened thereto a hub 23 of the operating handle or lever, (designated in a general wayby H.) This handle may be formed in any-suitable manner; but the main portion thereof is preferably a tubular member 24, driven into the hub 23 and into the handle or grip proper 25. Said handle, with its sector and the pinion 20, constitutes the principal means for turning the drum and will be referred to herein as the main drum-turning means.

It is of course desirable to cm ploy some suitable means for locking the drum in any one of its several step posit-ions, and in the present case I have illustrated improved devices for this purpose. I-Iere not only is the drum intended to be locked firmly at the desired point, but said drum is intended to be controlled as to such position directly from the finger-bar itself, which in this case is preferably a shiftable or oscillatory one, movable to carry the finger-contacts into and out of engagement with the drum-contacts. This [inger-bar may be of any suitable construction, is designated herein in a general way by F, and will be more particularly described hereinafter. It carries in this instance, preferably at one end thereof, an arm or lever which may be formed from sheet metal and in this case is made up of a main member26, having a short sheet-metal strip 27 riveted thereto and spaced at a slight distance therefrom in some suitable manner, as by means of fillingblocks 28, to provide a space in which a roll 29 may turn on a rivet or stud 30. The main portion of the lever may also be braced at its point of connection with the finger-bar by u p turned sides and ends and by a cross-piece 31, riveted to the main member 26, the whole forming a very light but rigid sheet-metal arm adapted to receive the correspondinglyshaped end of the finger-bar F and be firmly secured thereto, said member 26 having an opening 26', through which the fingerbar shaft will pass. The arm 26 also has in this case an extension so shaped as to permit a cam-slot 26 to be formed therein, said extension also having a pin 26", adapted to receive one end of a spring, the opposite end of which may be'connected to a lug 35 on the bracket 2, said lug having a suitable opening therein. A coiled spring 36 is intended to connect the locking arm or lever 26 of the finger-bar with the lug 35 on the bracket 2 and to hold the roll 29 normally in contact with the periphery of a coacting locking member on the drum. This locking member is preferably a starwheel, such as s, and in this case is riveted to a nut 37, which in tn rn may be secured to the shaft bya taper pin 37, passed through said shaft. A short tubular member 38 may be employed as a space-piece between pinion and the star-wheel sand may also serve as a journal member to be seated in acorresponding bearing in the bracket 2. Sheet-metal washers may be secured to the drum near opposite ends thereof, as shown at 39 and 3f), the former for separating the pinion 20 from one head of the drum and the other for separating the other head of the drum from the adjacent bearing-cheek of the bracket 2.

The star-wheel s is intended to cooperate with the spring 36, the locking-arm-2G of the finger-bar, and the roll 29 to turn the drum when the latter reaches a predetermined point in its movement, and said parts constitute whatltermsecondarydrum-turningmeans, effective at a predetermined point or points during the turning of the drum by the main drum-turning means. Thus when the sector 21 is turned in either direction by the handle the pinion 20 and the controller-drum will of course be turned also, owing to the positive intermeshing of the gear-teeth of the sector andpinion. Now the star-wheel s has in its periphery a plurality of recesses 40, into which, respectively, the roll 29 is intended to drop to lock the controller-drum in position, and when the drum begins to turn this roll will of course be forced out of the corresponding locking-recess 4:0 and up an adjoining face of the star-wheel. In this case the starwheel has two sets of cam-faces intersecting each other and also intersecting the recesses 4:0, one set of these faces being indicated by ll and the other by 42, and each time that the drum is turned the roll 29, unless lifted positively, will be forced up one of the cam faces 42 until it reaches the top thereof, when the roll will be quickly carried down the adjoining face i1, and during such movement the drum will be turned (owing to the force exerted by the spring 36 upon such face 41 through the roll 29) until the roll reaches the next locking-recess 40, when the drum will be locked against movement again. In order, however, that the drum may turn most freely, I prefer to employ in connection with the actuating and locking means just described some suitable means for positively withd ra wing the roll 29 from its locking-notch in the star-wheel each time it is desired to turn the controller-drum. Hence for this reason I have shown herein 'a substantially duplex operating member, the main portion of which is the lever 25, which is operative for turning the drum positively, while the other portion of the operating member is in the nature of a grip-lever movable relatively to the main lever and may be actuated to release the locking device or detent from the star-wheel of the drum before the latter begins to turn. The grip-lever is designated herein by and is pivoted in this case to a clip 51, brazed or otherwise suitably secured to the lever-rod 24. The grip-lever 50 will usually be an angular one, as shown, and in this case is connected, by means of a rod 52, to the upper end of a releasing device, which in this instance is made up of two parts, one of which is a snap 53, pivoted to the lower end of the rod 52 and guided in a slotin a clip 54, which may also be brazed to the leverrod 24, while the other member of said releasing device may be the releasing member or lifting member proper, 55, said releasing member being riveted in this case to the snap 53 and having therein a slot 55 to enable it to straddle the short shaft said releasing member having at its lower end a stud or roll, such as 56, adapted to work in the cam-slot 26 in the locking-lever 26 to raise the latter and the roll 29 from the star-wheel by a straight pull. The gripdever 50 may be held in the normal position shown in Fig. 1 by a spring 60, connected therewith and with a member on the lever-rod 24, such member being in this case a clip 57, preferably brazed to said lever-rod.

Of course both of the levers 50 and 25 will turn together, and hence the releasing member 55 will also turn with them, although it will have at the same time a lifting movement for the purpose of releasing the roll 29 from the star-wheel s as soon as the operating-lever begins to turn, it being understood, of course, that the two levers 25 and 50 will be gripped and operated practically simultaneously. It

will be evident, therefore, that ordinarily when the lever 50 is gripped and turned with the lever 25 the roll 29 will be raised from the star-wheel, as shown in Fig. 5, and that at the same time the finger-contacts will be lifted quickly from the corresponding drum-coniacts. Hence ordinarily the roll 29 will not ride up one of the cam-faces 42, but it will ride down one of the cam-faces 41, as indicated in Fig. 6, and during this time the pull of the spring 36 will serve to turn the starwheel .9 and the drum-controller, and thus during the latter part of the operation of turning the drum from one step to another not only will the secondary drum-turning means aid the primary drum-turning means, but it will also assure the rapid turning of the drum to its new position and the rapid making of contact between the finger-contacts and those on the drum at the new position, it being understood, of course, that the grip 50 should be released as soon as the top of the desired cam-face 42 passes the roll 29.

The finger-bar F, which has been herein before alluded to, preferably has a bore therethrough, into which is driven a tubular shaft, such as 62, supported at its ends in bearings in the brackets 2 and 2, the bracket 2 havingin this case a diagonally-disposed bracket-arm 2, in which one end of said shaft (52 is supported. The main portion of the finger-bar is preferably of wood ,squarein cross-section, and fitted at its opposite ends with corresondingly-shaped caps, one of which is formed by the squared end of the lever 26, while the other may be formed by a separate cap, such as 63. The fingers which carry the fingercontacts may be secured to the finger-bar in any suitable manner, preferably by means of clips screwed thereto, and these clips may be sheet-metal ones of substantially the construction shown in Fig. 9. Each ofthese clips, which is designated herein in a general way by c, has a pair of depending ears, such as and 65, with screw-holes therein, while the upper body portion of the clip has two pairs of ears 66 and 66 and 67 and 67, the former of which serve to clasp a finger, such as f, and have openings through which a screw may be passed to bind the finger to the finger-bar, while the ears 67 and 67 may be turned up obliquely and brazed to a bindingpost or wire-receiving clip, such as b, which may also be formed from sheet metal and will lie between said cars 67 and 67. The binding-post Z) has in this case a pair of parallel cars 68 and 68 and a round body portion 69 for the reception of one end of the conductor or wire, the position of which may be determined by an integral stop, such as 69, which may be positioned by the walls of a notch or recess 70 in the ears 06 and 66', and thus serve to brace the clip Z7 laterally.

For the purpose of holding the wire, such as 71, in position I may employa conductorclamp, such as 72, which is in the form of a toothed cam-lever, pivoted on a rivet 73, passing through openings 74 in the binding-postb.

The fingers f will preferably be oblong strips of phosphor-bronze in order to assure proper elasticity with conductivity, and at its contact-supporting end each resilient finger may be secured, as by soldering, to a block 75, having at its opposite sides recesses transverse to each other, (see Fig. 8,) one of which recesses receives the end 'of the finger and the other of which may have soldered therein a contact-supporting member, such as 76, to which may be pivoted a pendent member 77, which in turn may be soldered into a groove in the upper side of the finger-contact, which may be of the construction shown at 78. The pendant 77 may have an inserted pin 77 projecting therefrom and having slight play in a notch 76 in the support 76, said supporting member 76 and the pendant 77 being connected in this instance by means of a screw passed through openings therein and having at its end a nut 79, between which and the support 76 is interposed a washer 79, which may be a yielding or cup-shaped one. The fingers may be of thin enough metal to bend laterally from the horizontal plane as well as longitudinally, or to twist slightly, this lateral bending in a plane transverse to its lougitudinal yield permitting the surface of each contact-block to adjust itself in this direction to any irregularities in the drum-contacts or in the positioning of the fingers. All of these parts may either be stamped from sheet metal or cut from bars of copper, and it should be understood that the contacts themselves will be formed from wrought or rolled copper bars and not from copper castings in order that the highest degree of conductivity may be assured, together with maximum durability, as the wrought or rolled copper contacts will not be worn or fused so rapidly by sparking as cast contacts.

Of course when the parts are assembled the faces of all the finger-contacts 78 should lie in a common plaue, and the fingers f should be so positioned that when the finger-contacts are in engagement with drum-contacts the former will be slightly tensioned in order to assure the perfect engagement of the coutacting surfaces.

The conducting-wires 71 from the respective binding-posts may be connected to the source of power or battery (not shown) in any suitable manner according to the character of the latter and the number of elements or cells in circuit.

From the foregoing description it will be evident that not only does the secondary drum-turning means operate to accelerate the movement of the drum as it approaches the new position, but that it also serves to bring the finger-contacts down quickly upon the drum-contacts at the new position, and thus make the circuit quickly and minimize the sparking. As the circuit is also quickly broken by the raising of the finger-contacts from the drum-contacts when the grip 50 is operated, these coacting parts constitute a quick make-and-break device for first raising the finger-contacts from those on the drum and afterward bringing th m into engagement quickly With the latter. All of these operations are effected by the movements of thelocking-lever26, rigidly secured to the finger-bar, and hence there is a direct coaction between the drum and the finger-bar, the latter serving to lock the controller-drum in its respective positions and also to control the movements of the finger-contacts themselves.

Having described my invention, I claim- 1. The combinatiomwith a controller-dru m having drum-contacts and with a finger-bar having finger-contacts, of means for simultaneously turning the drum and raising the finger-contacts therefrom and maintainingthem in this position whereby the circuit remains broken during the rotation of said drum.

2. The combination, with acontmoller-drum having drum-contacts and With a finger-bar having finger-contacts, of an arm carried by the finger-bar, and a lever mechanism engaging said arm for raising the finger-contacts from the drum.

3. The combination,with a controller-drum having drum-contacts and with a finger-bar having finger-contacts, of an arm carried by the finger-bar provided with a slot, and a lever mechanism engaging said slot for raising the finger-contacts from the drum.

l. The combination,withacontroller-drnm having drum-contacts and with an oscillatory finger-bar having finger-contacts, of an arm carried by the finger-bar, and means for oscillating said finger-bar connected to the arm adjacent to the contact end of the fingers.

5. The combination,with a controller-dru m having drum-contacts and with an oscillatory finger-bar having finger-contacts, of a lever mechanism and a rotary member for simultaneously and independently oscillating the finger-bar and raising the finger-contacts from the drum.

6. The combination,with aeontroller-drum having drum-contacts and with a finger-bar having finger-contacts, of a detent for look ing the drum and the finger-bar t0gether,and means for releasing said detent.

7. The combination,with a controller-dru in having drum-contacts and with a finger-bar having finger-c0ntacts,of a spring-pressed detent for locking the drum and the finger-bar together, and means for releasing said detent.

8. The combination,with a controller-drum having a locking member with a plurality of locking-notches, of a finger-bar having a detent cooperative with said locking-notches, and means for releasing said detent.

9. The combinatiolnwith a controller-drum having a locking member with a plurality of locking-notches, of a fin ger-bar having a locking-lever with a detent-roll cooperative with said locking-notches, and means for releasing said detent-roll.

1.0. The combination, with a controllerdrum having a star-Wheel with peripheral locking-notches, of a finger-bar having a detent cooperative with said locking notches, and means for releasing said delent.

11. The combination, with a controllerdrum having dru m-contacts and with a fingerbar having finger-contacts, of a quick makeand-brcak device for raising the finger-contacts from, and bringing them into engagement with, drum-contacts.

12. The combination, with a controllerdrum having drum-contacts, of a finger-bar having finger-contacts; means for raising the finger-contacts from the drum-contacts; and a quick let-olf device for releasing said finger-contacts.

13. The combination, with a controllerdrum having drum-contacts, of a shiftable finger-bar having linger-contacts; means for raising the fingercontacts from the drumcontacts; and a quick let-off device for shifting said finger-bar to bring the finger-contacts into engagement with the drum-contacts.

14. The combination, with a controllerdrnm having drum-contacts, of a finger-bar having finger-contacts; means for raising the finger-contacts from the drum-conte'tcts; a star-Wheel on said drum and having a plurality of locking notches and intermediate cam-faces; means for turning the controllerdrum; and a second drum-1 urning device cooperative with cam-faces of the star-Wheel.

15. The combination, with a controllerdrum having drum-contacts, of a linger-bar having finger-contacts; main drnm-turning means; and secondary drum-turning means connected to the finger-bar and effective at a predetermined point in the turning of the drum.

16. The combination,- with a controllerdrum having drum-contacts, of a finger-bar having fingercontacts; main drum-turning means; and secondary drum-turning means carried by the finger-bar and effective at a predetermined point in the turning of the drum during the operation of the main drumturning means.

17. The combination, with a controllerdrnm having drum-contacts, of a finger-bar having finger-contacts; main drum-turning means; and secondary drum-turning means connected to the finger-bar and effective ata plurality of separated predetermined points in the turning of the drum.

18. The combination, with a controllerdrum having drum-contacts, of a finger-bar having finger-contacts; main drum-turning means; and secondary drum-turning means having a spring connected to the finger-bar releasable at a predetermined point in the turning of the drum.

19. The combination, with a controllerdrum having drum-contacts, of a fingerbar having finger-contacts; means for turning the drum; and means for raising the fingercontacts controlled by the turning of the IIO drum for first breaking contact at one point in the periphery of the drum and afterward making, contact at another point.

20. The combination, with a controllerdrum having drum-contacts, of a finger-bar having finger-contacts; means for turning the drum; and a quick make-and-break device for first raising the finger-contacts from the drum-contacts at one pointin the periphery oi the drum and afteni ard bringing said finger-contacts into engagement with drumcontacts at another point in the periphery of said drum.

2]. The combination, with a controllerdrum having drum-contacts, of a finger-bar having, finger-contacts; means for turning the drum; and combined locking; and releasing means connected to the drum-turning ears and also a second pair of ears, and a binding-post engaged by said ears CARL F. LUNDEBERG. Witnesses:

ELIJAH MORRIS, HENRY BIssELL. 

